SFI Conference: Partnerships DO Make a Difference

A stick held alone breaks easily. A bundle of sticks? Much harder to break. So it is with partnerships. Initiatives with multiple committed partners are stronger and more powerful than those embarked upon alone.

That’s why it’s encouraging to read about all of the positive things that are coming out of the array of partnerships facilitated by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). At the recent 2010 SFI Annual Conference (held September 21-23 in Vancouver, British Columbia), the organization announced some very positive, far-reaching benefits that have come out of its partnerships.

In particular, the SFI highlighted the success of its new Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant initiative, launched earlier this year to support cooperative projects that deliver tangible, on-the-ground benefits to forests. In 2010, the SFI has made an initial investment of between $307,500 – $675,000, and through the involvement of partners, these projects will leverage additional resources and achieve a total value of almost $2.7 million.

A number of projects are already in full swing. These include partnerships led by the following organizations. Click on the title to download individual project information sheets.

Bird Studies Canada, along with the Canadian Wildlife Service will work to conserve bird biodiversity across Canada.

Clemson University will help South Carolina landowners adopt and implement practices to improve wildlife habitat on managed forest lands in partnership with local conservation organizations and government agencies.

South Coast Conservation Program, in partnership with nine First Nations holding tenure in British Columbia, will help identify and protect habitat and populations of forest-dependent species at risk along British Columbia’s Pacific Coast.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, along with 11 state agencies and two Canadian provinces, will enhance the biodiversity of young forest habitats, helping to reverse the declines of some 80 species at risk.

The Ruffed Grouse Society will hold six Wisconsin Coverts workshops, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin’s Extension and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology to help private landowners in the Great Lakes Region manage their land for wildlife.

World Resources Institute will create an online dynamic risk assessment tool to reduce illegal wood imports into the United States.

About the Author

Heidi Tolliver-Walker Heidi Tolliver-Walker has been a commercial and digital printing industry analyst, feature writer, columnist, editor, and author for nearly 20 years. She is known for her meticulous research and no-nonsense perspective. In addition to having written thousands of industry articles for top industry publications, she and Richard Romano have been the face of the well-respected industry research firm The Industry Measure (TrendWatch Graphic Arts) for many years. In her more than 13-year tenure with the firm, she has written countless reports on digital printing, 1:1 (personalized) printing, Web-to-print, personalized URLs, and other hot industry applications. She is also a long-time contributing editor and columnist for Printing News, for which she writes two monthly columns, including "Personal Effects," which features monthly analysis of 1:1 (personalized) printing case studies. She is also the author of three titles for the National Association of Printing Leadership: Designer's Printing Companion, Ink & Color: A Printer's Guide, and Diversifying Via Value-Added Services. As a small, niche publisher (Strong Tower Publishing), she is active in utilizing these technologies in her own business, as well.